


fagr

by schoetheisrealaf



Category: GOT7
Genre: 18th Century, Alternate Universe - Norse Religion & Lore, I was on holdiday in Norway and this JUST HAPPENED, I'm so sorry okay, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Old Norse, aka a fuckton of fjords and waterfalls and stuff, also a tiny bit of smut, and crazy rune magic, far more world building than was actually called for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 08:27:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11986020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schoetheisrealaf/pseuds/schoetheisrealaf
Summary: fagr (adj., old norse) – beautiful, prettyEver since a time long before the word Viking even existed, the northern forests have been a place of wonder, the endlessly green realm of giants, trolls and the old gods.Ever since his father had died, Jaebum had known nothing but work on the fields and his small village at the end of the fjords. And yet, a trip to the forest and an encounter with a beautiful stranger should change the course of his life forever.





	fagr

Leaving the village all alone was always strange. Strange and exhilarating. With a large grin on his face, Jaebum walked up the small, stony path between the huge mountains of his home valley. To his left and right, grant monuments of stone and grass rose into a blanket of thick, white fog, the all-encompassing greyness only interrupted by the icy blue of water glinting in dull daylight. Water was everywhere, a multitude of little waterfalls edged into the mountainsides, a little river bubbling away just beside the road and of course, the sea.

If Jaebum turned around, he would have been able to see it all, the smoking chimneys of the few wooden houses that made up his home village at the end of the valley and the tiny fisher boats floating on the deep blue fjord. He knew that if he weren’t here now, on his way to hunt down some game while the weather was still warm enough, he would be out there with them. Or on the patchy fields surrounding the village, checking up on their meagre crops and equally meagre cattle, the only measure of income his father had left them when he died of consumption seven years ago. Since then, life hadn’t been all too kind to Jaebum and his mother, the widow and her son having to work day and night to get by without his father’s merchant wage. It had been an incomprehensible burden for him back then, to suddenly be the _man_ of the family at the tender age of fifteen, and it still was. But with time, the burden of having to represent their small household of two in the village and turning their meadows into fields that would feed them, had changed into the burden of his mother’s care, her doting, so solely based on him, her fear of losing him somehow.

Just this morning before Jaebum left, she had stopped him at the threshold, the cold morning light streaming past her small figure as she loving stroked his father’s old metal pendant that was now laying proudly on Jaebum’s broad chest. Jaebum didn’t know a lot about it, except that it had something to do with the old gods and had been in his family for longer than anyone could remember. But the feeling of the runes carved into it was familiar, like an old friend to his touch whenever he ran his thumb over the cold surface and he remembered his mother doing the same, her voice almost trembling as she had warned him of wolves and mountain chasms and all the creatures from the old times people still thought were hiding in the woods surrounding the valley _._

Most of them were believed to be trolls and friendly mountain giants who turned to stones and trees when folk went by, but there were also some mythical beings that sat more threateningly in the back of people’s mind. Beings that were said to ghost around the high pastures, luring lonesome travellers into their cursed embrace with their unearthly charms. _Huldra_ they were called. And on every cold winter night, when the people of the village gathered around the crackling fire of their baking hut, someone would tell stories of young men lost in the forest, never to be seen again, and ethereal-looking girls with long, blonde hair flowing like a waterfall down their glowing backs. Folk had always gone missing in the area around the woods behind the fjords, a few of them in Jaebum’s lifetime too. But Jaebum did not fear the _huldra_. He knew his way around. And he had never been interested in maidens with long blonde hair anyway, no matter how pretty they might have been.

Sighing, Jaebum let his hand slip from the pendant around his neck, his calves burning slightly from his quick climb up the mountain way, his mind drifting in the unusual silence that surrounded him on the deserted road. Back in the village, there was chatter and activity, there was _community_ everywhere, no time for private thoughts or quiet conversations with himself. Yet here, miles above the valley, there were no noises but the rushing of the river and the whisper of trees and Jaebum’s own, softly panting breath as he bent down to inspect a nest of beautiful, lilac flowers. He had just picked one of them, debating whether he should dry it and give it to his mother in a few days when a strange sound reached his ears, so strange, it made him freeze instantly by how unexpected it was.

Someone was singing.

 

_Sweet summer boy,_

_Standing on the roadside_

_Won’t you come with me._

_To the brook,_

_Up the valley,_

_Where the water falls a thousand feet._

_And a crown of flowers_

_And a meal of berries_

_And a kiss as sweet as you_

_Oh, my summer boy, I sit by the brook_

_I sit and wait for you._

A shiver of recognition ran up Jaebum’s back as the familiar chorus of one of his valley’s songs came to an end. _Freya’s song._

Curious, he stood, lifting his eyes from the flower, searching for the source of the smooth, tender singing just to find the forest before him empty. For a moment, Jaebum waited, rooted to the spot as a slight quiver of discomfort resonated through his body. He fumbled the flower he had been holding into his button hole, fidgeting aimlessly until he shook his head, carrying on again. Surely, his mind must have been playing games with him. But the soothing silence from earlier had gained a threatening undercurrent, an unnamed, unnatural touch that Jaebum longed to fill with something. So, he soon found himself humming the same song he heard while picking the flower, the words coming as natural as breathing to him once he came to the second verse.  

 

_Sweet summer boy,_

_Oh, with Freya’s grace_

_I will surely have you._

_Oh, you won’t feel_

_The currents so cold_

_Where the water falls a thousand feet._

The breeze was rustling in the treetops above Jaebum’s head and in the bushes just beside the path too and Jaebum thought that he might be hearing steps, but he might as well simply be going crazy, all alone in the mountains. He looked up at the trees and then back on the path, half expecting it to be just as deserted as before, it all being a product of his bored, idle imagination, when his gaze landed on the faraway figure of a boy walking his way on the road.

Jaebum’s heartbeat increased a few paces at the sight of the stranger, his sudden appearance making his fingertips tingle in surprise. It was not often that one would meet another person on these paths and he was just about to stop his singing to greet the boy, but then…then the other’s voice met his on the first line of the chorus in perfect harmony.

 

_And a crown of flowers_

_And a meal of berries_

_And a kiss as sweet as you_

_Oh, my summer boy, my sweet, sweet love,_

_There will be no more winter for you._

 

“You have a wonderful voice, traveller.”, the stranger said once he was only a few paces away from Jaebum, a wide grin gracing his face. Jaebum was unable to keep himself from breathing a short, giddy laugh, completely caught off guard by the unexpected turn of the situation and the realisation that _no_ the person standing directly in front of him now wasn’t a boy.

It was a young man, just like Jaebum himself, except that, contrary to Jaebum’s dull woollen one, his shirt was blindingly white and embroidered with colourful flowers under his heavy black coat and his features looked so much softer than his own, not a hint of stubble showing on his delicate skin. His hair was black like unburnt coal, his eyes equally so and his lips, Jaebum didn’t even dare to look at too long. He was beautiful, that much Jaebum knew. And that combined with the excitement at the prospect of talking to someone that wasn’t one of the same thirty people back in his village made his cheeks blush hotly as he answered with another bark of flustered laughter.

“Yours isn’t bad either.”

Seeming suddenly bashful himself, the man simply smiled, making some more steps forward like he wanted to carry on with his road. But Jaebum wasn’t ready, wasn’t willing to let him go just yet, his heart yearning to bask some more in the presence of this captivating stranger. Before he even knew what he was doing himself, he had turned towards him again, his arm outstretched in the greeting of their people.

“My name is Jaebum, by the way. Where are you headed?”

“Well, Jaebum.” The man said, as he slowly extended his own hand so they could clasp their hands around each other’s underarm as it was expected. “My mother named me Jinyoung. And I am looking to do some trade in the villages down the valley. You?”

“I come from one of those villages in fact. I am on my way on a hunting tour in the forest.” Jaebum answered after a short beat of silence, distracted by the way the other’s hand was gently squeezing his arm at his words and the hard feeling of the muscles under his own hand. Mortified, he could feel himself blush again as Jinyoung finally let go of his arm, looking him straight into the eyes. He wasn’t used to people being his height, women usually being smaller than him while most of the men of the village towered over him by several fingers width. He wasn’t used to have someone whose face, eyes, lips where at the exact same height as his, so close, yet so out of reach. It seemed, he wasn’t used to someone like Jinyoung at all.

“We should take a rest together then. So you can tell me a bit about the places I wish to do business at.” With a playful grin, Jinyoung pulled Jaebum out of his thoughts again, already turning away to get comfortable on a stretch of grass next to the river.

For a heartbeat, Jaebum felt hesitant, even though he prevented the other from leaving just a moment ago. It was already afternoon and he had intended to hike to a hut in the forest to take shelter for the night. If he dawdled too long, he could not get there in time and would have to sleep in the woods, unprotected from weather and beasts. But then, his gaze fell on Jinyoung again, who had already taken of his jacket to sit on it, basking in the cloud-dimmed summer sunlight with his small bundle next to him, the whiteness of his shirt standing out starkly against his surprisingly tanned skin. And when their gazes met again, there was a sparkle in the other man’s, as if the coal of his eyes had suddenly been set ablaze, or as if they were reflecting the river’s twinkling currents tenfold.

Bewildered, Jaebum felt something tug at him, tug at his arm as if Jinyoung had bound a thread around it when they touched for the first time. His legs began to move out of their own volition and soon he was sitting next to the other man, looking into his calm face.

“Now tell me about your village, Jaebum. I want to know everything.”

***

Jaebum never thought he could talk that long. When he was finished answering all of Jinyoung’s questions, the sun was already casting long, mountain-shaped shadows on the path, signalling him with urgency that it was time to move on. And yet, miraculously, the patch of grass by the river they were sitting on was still blessed with a last twinkle of sunlight.

His heart clenched unwillingly at the prospect of leaving the other man behind. It was unlikely they would meet again and Jaebum had already taken a fragile liking to the other’s deep yet boyish laugh and bright, soulful eyes. But if he wanted to make it safely through the night and actually fulfil his mission, he needed to leave now, even though an irrational part of him desired nothing more than to return to the village by Jinyoung’s side.

So, once everything fell silent between them, Jaebum went through his belongings again, ready to say his goodbyes and continue his hike, only to realise that his water skin was almost empty. Wanting to refill it with the clear water of the river beside him, he leaned over, his fingertips already touching the icy waves, when he felt Jinyoung’s hand slide onto his shoulder as he spoke:

“I don’t think you should drink that. I saw the rotten cadaver of a deer lying in this stream further up the mountains.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” Jaebum answered, trying to give the other man a reassuring smile over his shoulder that turned into a surprised gasp when Jinyoung’s fingers tightened around his shoulder gently.

“No.” he simply said. “I don’t want you to get sick.”

The odd glimmering in his eyes was back, as if they had sucked in the last ray of sunshine that had made its way through the mountains and suddenly, Jaebum couldn’t remember anymore why he had been in such a haste to leave. Slowly, Jinyoung’s hand glided from Jaebum’s arm all the way down to his hand, tangling their fingers together deftly, before he gave him a small, this time very real, tug.

“You should come with me. I’ll show you the place I refilled my water earlier.”

And what else was there for Jaebum to do but shrug his coat on, shoulder his bundle and follow Jinyoung deep into the stony forest? The other man didn’t let go of Jaebum’s wrist once while he navigated their way further and further up the mountain and when Jinyoung finally announced that they had reached their destination, he had lost all sense of the time and distance they had been walking. Blinking a bit dumbly, he followed Jinyoung through an especially dense thicket of fern, his eyes growing big when, all of a sudden, they were standing in front of a huge waterfall.

It must have been at least as high as the tallest ship that had ever anchored in their fjord and the sound of the water rushing down the rocks roared in Jaebum’s ears like the biggest _midtsommer_ fire, spraying his face thinly with cold, wet drops. Rocks were mounting up behind the rushing water and also to its sides, giving way to a small meadow of stunningly colourful flowers a few paces away from them. Further down the clearing, the stream pooled into a small lagoon before it flowed over again and the water continued its way down towards the valley, soon joining the big river they had come from. Said river was now flowing far below them, a thin silver band, barley shining in the setting sun’s light and with a shiver of unease, Jaebum realised just _how_ far away from his path he had let himself be led. He would never make it to the hut in time.

Swallowing hard, Jaebum turned back towards Jinyoung, who had already sat down near the water to stick his hand into the freezing waves. His eyes were closed and he looked serene, so serene Jaebum was wondering if he did not worry about his shelter for the night at all. Jinyoung would not be able to get to his destination before nightfall either.

There was no use in leaving in a hurry now, since he would have to sleep in the forest anyway, so Jaebum settled down next to Jinyoung, the boy’s eyelids fluttering as if he had sensed Jaebum’s nearness the moment he sat down.

“Look how clear the water is.”, he murmured, gracing Jaebum with an inquiring glance that strangely looked like he was searching for his approval. Then he formed his hands into a small bowl, lifting them first up to his own face to drink, before stretching his arms out towards Jaebum. Unable to turn down what was considered a courtesy among their people, Jaebum bent his head down obediently, sipping the water from Jinyoung’s hands until he had his fill and the other let the rest of it trickle through his fingers carelessly.

For a heartbeat, there was the faintest touch of stinging cold fingertips on Jaebum’s jaw and then on his lips, fluttering like a kingfisher’s quick wings, but when Jaebum looked up, confused, eyes dazed by the sudden touch, Jinyoung had his hands neatly folded in his lap, the aura of serenity firmly back in place around him. Wondering if his wishful thinking was already changing his perception of things, Jaebum shook his head once, clearing his throat pointedly.

“So…where are you going to set up camp for the night?”

“I saw a small cave in the rocks beside the waterfall. I think I might seek shelter there.” Jinyoung answered, eyes firmly trained onto his tangled fingers. And then, after a quick intake of breath, he said: “Maybe…if you don’t mind…you could join me?”

Jaebum could feel his own breath hitch at the proposition, relief washing over him like the water hurrying downhill next to them. Anything would be better than to spend the night in the forest and to gain some more time with Jinyoung was a prospect that made his heartbeat increase with uncertain excitement. And yet, for some reason unknown even to himself, he could not bring himself to agree right away. An uneasiness was nagging in the back of his mind that not even the promise of save shelter for the night could quench and he remained silent. He remained silent until Jinyoung looked up from his lap again, eyes glinting like the waterfall itself was rushing right through them.

“Yes. I can do that. I’ll stay with you.” Jaebum heard himself say, as if the words had been pulled right out of his mouth by a string Jinyoung had tied on his lips when he touched them.

 

***

There was, indeed, a cave in the rocks a few lengths away from the waterfall and by nightfall, Jaebum and Jinyoung had put up camp well inside of it. There was a fire burning merrily near the opening and the air inside had begun to get dense with the faint smell of burning twigs while both of them had spread out their bedrolls around it. Once everything had been put down, Jaebum had eaten a small portion of the bread and hard sausages his mother had packed him, ready to share his meal with Jinyoung, but the boy had simply shaken his head with a smile, claiming that he was not hungry at all. Instead, he had entertained Jaebum the whole time he nibbled on his chewy food, taking any time away from Jaebum that he could have used thinking about the sense of threat that had overcome him so suddenly outside. The sound of Jinyoung’s soft voice seemed to put him completely at peace and when he had finished his meal, Jaebum had joined to conversation lively, telling Jinyoung stories about his mother and his childhood by the sea.

At some point, Jinyoung had caught one of his gesticulating hands in his, pretending to study the heavy rings adorning his fingers. Since then, he hadn’t let go once, running his fingertips over the wooden circles even as eyes lifted from his lap again and Jaebum’s hands had started to tremble with the possible implications of Jinyoung’s actions. He could not help thinking that they might have come to an understanding between softly exchanged smiles and the far too long handshake they gave each other in the beginning. The same kind of understanding Jaebum had had with a boy from the neighbour village at _midtsommer_ last year, just before said boy got married. In the society they lived in, sometimes letting meaningless things happen quickly was key when one was not all that interested in fair maidens with long, blonde hair.

So, when Jinyoung asked him to sing for him again, his cheeks turning rosy in the warm light of the fire, Jaebum accepted his request with a bright smile of his own and, as clear and silken as he could, began to sing:

_The day I forget you will never come;_

_'Cause when I see you I dream of you._

_Each night and day you are always near_

_But I see you clearest when it's dark._

_You play around me wherever I walk,_

_I hear you when my heart beats_

_You trustworthily follow me on my journey_

_Just like the shadow follows the sun. *_

It was a love song. A sad one, indeed, but a love song nonetheless. Somewhere during the song, Jaebum’s eyelids had closed without him even noticing, his emotions getting the best of him, just like they always would when he sang the ballad, imagined a love of his own that could burn as intensely as it was described in it. When he opened his eyes again, blinking cautiously against the brightness of the fire, the first thing he saw was Jinyoung’s face, incredibly, unexpectedly near. The boy must have scooted much closer while he had been singing and was now looking at him with a gaze of solemn awe from his place right next to him.

“Beautiful.”, he whispered, as if afraid to break the thin silence that had emerged after Jaebum’s song ended and squeezed his hands softly with his.

 “Thank you, again.” Smiling softly, Jaebum tightened his fingers around Jinyoung’s too, only to be surprised a heartbeat later by the other’s furrowed eyebrows and firm headshake.

 “No.” he said, sliding even closer to Jaebum, so close Jaebum could feel his arm and thigh press into his side when Jinyoung turned to fix him with a blazing gaze. It seemed like the orange shine of the fire was trapped entirely in the other’s eyes and Jaebum felt frozen to his spot, unable to move a single muscle as Jinyoung threw a leg over his own, placing himself firmly in his lap.

 “I wasn’t just talking about your voice.” Jinyoung leaned forward, whispering into Jaebum’s ear, his hot breath making the hair at the back of his neck stand up in a mixture of arousal and trepidation.

“I was talking about _you_. All of you.” And then there was a soft moan Jaebum would have thought he imagined if he would not have felt the wet press of Jinyoung’s soft lips under his ear, would not have heard the breathy _so beautiful_ that slipped out of Jinyoung’s mouth just before making the sound.

Overwhelmed, Jaebum could not hold back a sigh of his own, prompting Jinyoung to look down at him again, their eyes locking with a finality Jaebum could not quite place. There was something hot flaring in Jinyoung’s gaze, a strange mixture between arousal and sorrow. But Jaebum did not have any time to dwell on it for too long. After drawing another shuddering breath, Jinyoung had all but fallen into his arms and kissed him. Kissed him with a desperate passion Jaebum had never felt before in his life. Kissed him, like he wanted to suffocate him.

And yet, after this first, violent kiss that had made Jaebum’s blood pound in his ears and his heart beat furiously in his chest, it was nothing but gentle. Tenderness lay in the way Jinyoung pushed him onto his back on the bedroll, his touches roaming all over Jaebum’s body as he undressed him with aching slowness, as he guided Jaebum’s hands to the hem of his own shirt. Carefully, the firelight seemed to play around Jinyoung’s figure on top of him, drenching his naked curves in a flickering play of light and shadow. The oil the other boy had produced from his bag in a small vial was sweet smelling and warm on Jaebum’s skin as Jinyoung rubbed it over his aching length, as he placed his slippery hands on Jaebum’s chest to lower himself onto him gently. Even the sounds they were making were low and mewling, no shouts or loud moans escaping them to break the daze that had settled over the cave.

Everything seemed to be charged with a raw passion that burned slowly but steadily and Jaebum felt like he didn’t fully understand what had happened, what _was_ happening, when Jinyoung was already tensing up and trembling on top of him, chanting Jaebum’s name under his breath like a prayer. Wet and hot, his semen smeared all over Jaebum’s stomach as he leaned down to kiss him deeply again, making Jaebum follow him into the heights of hazy release with a soft cry.

Afterwards, Jaebum enclosed the other man in his arms, Jinyoung’s head resting on his chest, their bodies pressed closely together under Jaebum’s blanket to fight off the sharp coldness of a northern summer night. He could feel Jinyoung’s soft hand stroke up and down his side, pass teasingly over his nipples only to settle right in the centre of his chest were his heartbeat was slowly returning to its usual steady thump again. For a few moments, everything was silent, was perfectly calm and Jaebum sensed his eyelids become heavier and heavier. Sleep seemed to creep up on him, but then Jinyoung stretched out his fingers, making a low humming sound when they brushed the skin-warm metal of Jaebum’s necklace. With hooded eyes, Jaebum watched the other push down their blanket so he could study the pendant attentively, face still half hidden in Jaebum’s chest as his fingers traced the vines and runes engraved into it. Startled, Jaebum noticed how Jinyoung’s hand started to tremble slightly and the genuine smile he had felt pressed into his skin seemed strained when Jinyoung lifted his head to look at him, necklace still firmly trapped between his fingers.

 

“Where did you get this charm from, Jaebum?”, he asked, his eyes flying over Jaebum’s face as if he were trying to solve a puzzle that lay hidden behind it.

“It is an heirloom. The men of my family have worn it longer than we can remember.” Jaebum answered, confused at Jinyoung’s sudden interest in the piece of jewellery that had been like a part of Jaebum’s body ever since he had been fifteen. It was strangely intimate, to have Jinyoung look at it so closely, to have someone else run their thumb over the faded runes like he himself always used to do.

“So you don’t know what the runes mean?” At that, Jaebum simply shook his head, making Jinyoung’s face light up in a small, almost sad smile as his fingers unfurled around the necklace again. It fell back against Jaebum’s chest with a dull thud and Jinyoung placed the tip of his index finger under it, as if he were following words as he read.

“It says: _May Freya give you eternal summer._ ”, he whispered, seemingly deep in thought, and when his gaze focused on Jaebum again, it was dark like the night sky in the deepest winter and yet bright like the stars that twinkled in it. The sight made Jaebum speechless, just as speechless as the slow, deliberate kiss Jinyoung gave him with trembling lips. Somehow, it felt like Jinyoung was trying to distract him from something, was trying to keep him from coming to a certain conclusion.

It was only later, when Jinyoung had nestled his head in the crook of Jaebum’s neck again, resting yet not sleeping as he traced restless patterns on Jaebum’s chest that he realised that he had never met a person younger than his dead grandmother before who could read runes. Runes had been disappearing from the surface of people’s knowledge and a man like Jinyoung…he should not be able to understand them.

***

That night, Jaebum had an unearthly dream.

He was standing in the middle of the forest again, surrounded by a field of white flowers. A few paces away from him, a brook was cutting through the grass and on its edge, a woman was sitting. Her back was turned into Jaebum’s direction and long, blonde hair was falling on it in lush waves. And distantly, Jaebum could hear her sing.

 

_Sweet summer boy,_

_Standing on the roadside_

_Won’t you come with me._

_To the brook,_

_Up the valley,_

_Where the water falls a thousand feet._

_And a crown of flowers_

_And a meal of berries_

_And a kiss as sweet as you_

_Oh, my summer boy, I sit by the brook_

_I sit and wait for you._

 

Jaebum could feel his insides turn into ice with a feeling of imminent dread at her cold voice, flowing around the familiar melody like the waterfalls streamed through the rocks when the snow was melting in spring. Suddenly, a memory surfaced from the back of his mind, a memory long buried, yet not forgotten. He remembered how he would sit on his late grandmother’s lap, a boy not older than five summers and how she would sing the song to him. How she would not call it _Freya’s song_ but _Huldra’s call_.

Knowing that he had to flee, Jaebum turned into the thick wall of trees to his side, running as fast as his feet would carry him to get away from the ghostly singing. Slowly, it faded behind him in the rustle of trees, turning into a whisper that wormed its way into Jaebum’s ear as he raced through the forest. Branches were wiping his body everywhere, on his legs, on his chest, on his face. And then, just as his breathing began to lighten and his steps to slow, there was a silent sob in his ear. Shocked, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was back at the clearing, a wet sea of white flowers catching on his feet like quicksand, the _huldra_ gone.

Instead, a boy was sitting on the other side of the brook, facing Jaebum with a calm, detached expression. He looked familiar, as familiar as the new-found memory still pounding behind Jaebum’s forehead, but it was impossible for Jaebum to place him. Until his confused eyes met the boy’s stony ones and another hushed sob resounded in his ear and Jaebum _knew_ , knew with certainty that, even though he could not recognise him, it was Jinyoung he was looking at.

And it was also Jinyoung’s disembodied voice he was hearing as he fell to his knees into the wet flowers, his eyes never leaving the boy’s passive face that contrasted so highly with Jinyoung’s desperate pleading in his head.

_Mother, please, make it quick for him. And…and painless._

Confused, Jaebum wanted to ask Jinyoung who he was talking to, but when he opened his lips, he suddenly felt that he could not breathe and then, water, an ice-cold burning mountain river was flowing from his mouth.

_Mother, I…he has your blessing. I know it is his fate. But he can’t feel any pain. And he has to reach the village unblemished. Please…make it so._

It wretched Jaebum’s heart to hear Jinyoung so distraught, but he could not do anything, could not even speak as the water continued to gush out of him. He could feel the other Jinyoung’s pitiless eyes on him as the last bit of strength in his body left him and the white flowers rushed closer. Their soft petals welcomed him with their wet embrace like the waves of the fjord in summer, caressing him. And then, the singing returned.

 

_Sweet summer boy,_

_Oh with Freyas grace_

_I will surely have you._

_Oh, you won’t feel_

_The currents so cold_

_Where the water falls a thousand feet._

_And a crown of flowers_

_And a meal of berries_

_And a kiss as sweet as you_

_Oh, my summer boy, my sweet, sweet love,_

_There will be no more winter for you._

 

Shivers ran down Jaebum’s spine at recognising Jinyoung’s voice again. But it sounded neither boyish and joyful as it had been when he first saw him, nor was it cold and frightening like the _huldra_ ’s. It was resigned, like the lament of a man who had long since accepted the inevitable. And it was sad. Deeply, deeply sad.

***

When Jaebum woke up, he was alone and drenched in sweat, the woollen blanket sticking to his skin as he sat up hectically. Jinyoung was nowhere to be seen, but his breeches were still laying in the tangle of their discharged clothing from which Jaebum picked his shirt, throwing it over his quivering body.

All of a sudden, the cave that had felt so warm and comforting the last night, seemed to suffocate Jaebum with its enclosing walls and he stumbled out into the clearing on shaking legs, mind still hazy with images from his disturbing dream. For a moment, he even thought he was still dreaming, his eyes falling on Jinyoung’s shirt-glad figure, sitting by the water. His back was turned to Jaebum and his posture was so strangely similar to the _huldra_ ’s in Jaebum’s dream that his heart started to pick up a maddening pace in his chest, panic rising in his throat like bile. The feeling of not being able to breathe returned with intensity and Jaebum could almost taste the river´s water on his tongue, could almost sense its coldness flowing over his lips.

A soft gasp escaped him at the memory and with something akin to horror, Jaebum watched Jinyoung turn his head, afraid to see the face of the cold, listless man from his dream. But when his face finally came into view, Jinyoung was smiling, smiling brightly and Jaebum felt his heart lighten in his chest. It had all been nothing but a silly dream conjured up by a song from his childhood, he told himself as the stifling grip of panic slowly loosened around his chest.

“You’re awake! Come, sit with me.”, he heard Jinyoung say, the other already stretching out his arm towards him. Gladly, Jaebum took his hand, the contact chasing away the last traces of unsettlement still hiding in his heart, and let himself be pulled down next to Jinyoung.

It seemed like the other had been awake for quite a while, a small pile of berries laying on a large leaf in front of him. With careful fingers, Jinyoung put a few of them on the palm of his hand before offering them to Jaebum just like he had done it with the water the day before.

“Here, eat.”, he murmured, voice barley understandable over the rush of the waterfall next to them. “I picked them for you.”

At that Jaebum’s face heated up bashfully, his mind reeling, so unused to the feeling of being taken care of. Suddenly shy, he almost dropped the berries he picked from Jinyoung’s hands, shoving them into his mouth hurriedly, blushing even more as he felt Jinyoung’s amused gaze on the side of his face.

“Thank you.” Jaebum muttered awkwardly, only earning a light giggle from Jinyoung.

“You don’t have to thank me, Jaebum.” Still smiling, Jinyoung let one of his hands stroke over Jaebum’s back until he had his arm firmly around his shoulders. With his other hand, he picked up another berry, holding it between his index finger and thumb so near to Jaebum’s lips, that there was no other choice for him but to let Jinyoung feed it to him.

The heat never left Jaebum’s cheeks while Jinyoung took his time in making him eat the berries he handed him one by one and when they were all gone, he hid his face in the other’s neck, unwilling to showcase his weakness to him. As a retaliation, he started to mouth at Jinyoung’s throat until the other let out a small sigh and pulled on Jaebum shoulder, gently pushing him down so that his head was resting in Jinyoung’s lap.

Once he was lying down, looking up into Jinyoung’s glinting eyes, feeling his hands softly card through his hair, Jaebum realised how tired he still was feeling, after his night of restless sleep. And even though he did not want to waste his last moments with Jinyoung before each one of them continued their journeys into opposite directions with sleeping, he could not keep himself from dozing off again, too relaxed under Jinyoung’s touches and the early morning sun.

Dazed, he went in and out of consciousness, but the feeling of Jinyoung softly tugging at his hair, carefully turning his head this and that way, never left, planting a single, dreamy wish in his head; that they could stay this way forever, that he would never have to leave Jinyoung’s side again, would always be blessed with the caress of his soft hands and the sound of his deep voice, humming soothingly as he stroked Jaebum’s hair.

Finally, when Jaebum woke again, it was to the sight of a small white flower dangling right in front of his eyes before it got pulled up with an insistent tugging on the hair just over his temple. Confused, he wanted to sit up, but was stopped by Jinyoung’s firm, yet gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Wait for just one more moment.”, he said distractedly, fingers pressing into Jaebum’s scalp as he continued to work on his hair until he made a little, satisfied noise, motioning for him to sit up.

“What were you doing?” Still a bit dazed from his slumber, Jaebum reached up to his head, only to feel silky flower petals where normally, there should be nothing but straight, plain hair.

“I braided flowers into your hair.” Jinyoung answered with a smile, fingers coming up to touch a small, white flower he had stuck behind his own ear before he scooted closer to Jaebum, so close, their knees where touching as they sat across from each other. Once again, it struck Jaebum how beautiful Jinyoung was in the light of a surprisingly warm summer morning, wearing nothing but his thin, flower embroidered shirt that did not do much to conceal the glow of his tanned skin.

“You should see yourself.” With a fluttering touch to his jaw, Jinyoung pulled Jaebum out of his reverie, prompting him to lock eyes with him. And there it was again, that ethereal glint that seemed to be fuelled by the sun itself, that stole Jaebum’s breath right out of his mouth as Jinyoung let his fingers stroke up his jaw to disappear in his hair. A faint tugging feeling at the roots of his hair made Jaebum sigh softly, a tingle of arousal sparking in his groin while Jinyoung ran his fingertips over the wreath he made.

“You look so beautiful with flowers in your hair.”, he murmured, voice hoarse. “You look like a bride.”

Jaebum barely had time to get embarrassed about the remark before Jinyoung’s eyes darkened again with that strange mixture of grief and desire and he was being pulled forward almost violently, Jinyoung’s mouth finding his in a frantic kiss. There was nothing left of the sweet tenderness from the night before, every touch, every kiss as intense as the very first one they shared. Jinyoung’s hands pressed down heavily on Jaebum’s waist, pulling him onto his lap. Jinyoung’s strong arms held him firmly in place as he left biting kisses all over his throat and shoulders, no matter how much Jaebum trembled and shook in his hold, moans leaving his lips as if they had been punched out of him.

And later, when Jinyoung had him on his back again, he held his clamping thighs open with unmoving firmness, even when Jaebum trashed and whined at the wet feeling of the other’s tongue right at his very core. Jaebum had never been touched like this before and he was taken aback by himself, by the sounds he was making as Jinyoung finally entered him, as he took him lying in the grass with his shirt still on. The blinding morning sunlight was illuminating Jinyoung’s figure from behind, giving him a crown of light that surrounded his face and Jaebum could not help thinking that he looked like an angel, until Jinyoung pulled Jaebum’s legs up, prompting him to wrap them around his torso. Willingly, Jaebum pressed the other closer with his legs, the newfound sensation making their breathing hitch at the same time. And then Jaebum stopped thinking altogether.

Once it was all over, Jinyoung held him close to his chest, embracing him as the last shivers ran through his body. Comfortingly, he let his hand run down Jaebum’s spine, dipping lower and lower with each caress until his fingertips were brushing Jaebum’s entrance again. Jaebum gasped at the feeling of the other’s touch on his slippery skin, blushing in a mixture between satisfaction and embarrassment at the thought that it was another man’s release that was trickling out of him slowly.

“Jaebum…”, Jinyoung whispered into his ear, his voice as soft as his touches while he moved his hand upwards again, taking the hem of Jaebum’s shirt with him. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Exhausted, Jaebum only nodded, sitting up so Jinyoung could help him out of his shirt gingerly. With bright, admiring eyes, Jaebum watched him as he shed his own clothing, patiently waiting for Jinyoung to lend him a hand, to pull him to a stand and then nearer to the water until they were standing on the very edge of it.

Further up the clearing, the waterfall was still roaring on merrily, disrupting the calm water of the lagoon into turbulent waves, but Jaebum had grown up in a fjord; he knew how to handle currents and coldness. So, he did not hesitate to make a bold step down into the water, although the cold water stung every bit of his skin it touched as he waded a few steps into the lagoon. Once the stream had reached his hip, he turned around to see of Jinyoung was coming, the absolute lack of noises from behind him making him slightly suspicious.

He expected Jinyoung to still stand at the edge of the water, refusing to go in himself now that he got Jaebum to do it. He did not expect to almost collide with Jinyoung once he had turned around. Jinyoung who must have crept up behind him without making any sound, whose eyes shone brighter than ever before as they fixed on Jaebum with freezing intensity. It was in that moment, with Jinyoung standing in the ice-cold stream as if he did not feel any form of discomfort, that Jaebum realized that his eyes were not reflecting the water, or the sun, or the fire yesterday night, but shone from within himself, unearthly, supernaturally. And that they had always done that. But Jaebum had been blind. So blind.

“My sweet summer boy….” Jinyoung sounded pained, like he could barely bring himself to continue talking. Shakenly yet firmly, freezing fingers curled around Jaebum’s shoulders. “…I’m sorry. But it has to be this way.”

For an instant, panic scalded in Jaebum’s chest, making his heartbeat thump so thickly in his throat, he felt like he could barely breathe. But then, he met Jinyoung’s moist, devastated gaze with his. And it was as if everything froze. The realisation that he could not fight his way out of this, that, no matter what he did, it would end here for him, and now, crept its way down from his head to his heart. He had listened to _huldra’s call_. And he would pay the price.

In a daze, he watched Jinyoung lean in, letting their panting breath ghost over each other’s lips before he sealed them together in a kiss, licking the taste of berries out of Jaebum’s mouth. With shaking hands, Jaebum gripped Jinyoung’s waist, clutching onto it hard as he kissed the other boy with a desperation that seemed to move between them like a floundering fish caught in the fisher’s net that would bring him sure death. Slowly, the daze in his mind seemed to engulf Jaebum as a whole, making him numb to anything but Jinyoung’s relentless ministrations, his mindless, hectic kisses.

There was no way anymore of knowing if the numbness spreading in his body came from the knowledge of what was about to come or the icy temperature of the water they were standing in, but it was so profound that at first, Jaebum did not even realise that Jinyoung had started to push him down into the water. It was only when his knees started to buckle, a heartbeat before the first painfully freezing wave closed over Jaebum’s head that he felt the deathly tenderness with which Jinyoung immersed them both in the water.

His breath hitched, and immediately, there was a gush of water running down his lungs, that should have burned, should have hurt so much, but strangely, Jaebum did not feel any pain after his skin had become unfeeling to the icy sting of the water. The water ran down his nose, made his tongue feel thick and suffocating in the back of his throat and yet, it was nothing to him. He could only feel how Jinyoung continued to kiss him, even as his vision began to dim slowly, his heart racing in his chest like a fearful horse. Distantly, he could sense Jinyoung’s arms wrap themselves around his body, pressing him even closer to his trembling figure, a hand coming up to stroke his cheek soothingly as Jaebum’s body trashed, caught in the last fight of certain death. And then, he drowned.

***

The very same day at sunset, the salmon fishers down in the valley made a strange discovery. They were standing on the little wooden bridges secured to the rocks towering far into the river, when a shout of surprise echoed in the calm evening air. Shortly after, the body of a young man was spotted floating in the translucent mountain stream, clad in nothing but brown breeches and a shirt that flowed around his figure like a big white cloud. Firmly, a wreath of equally white flowers was braided into his black hair, surrounding his head like a dark, floating halo as he drifted along with the slow summer currents, miraculously unblemished.

In a village as small as theirs it did not take the fishers long to identify the boy, grief darkening their faces like an autumn storm as they waded out of the water, the boy’s lifeless body heavy in their arms. And when they had made their way back to the house the boy had lived in with his mother, a wail resounded in the village, so terrible, all the babes woke up too, crying.

It took a long time to calm the widow down so much that she could look at her son’s body, lying so peacefully on their table as if he were barely sleeping. Gingerly, she touched the bruises on his neck, the only stain that tainted his otherwise entirely undamaged appearance, her figure freezing with a gasp when, instead of the leather band of the pendant she was searching for, she found a sturdy twine of grass fastened around his neck. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, she pulled at the cord, revealing a little piece of wood dangling on it, the shape of the old runes greeting her with their cryptic familiarity.

Upon this sight, a whisper ran through the whole room and immediately, a boy was send to get the village elder, a woman so old, not even she herself knew how old exactly she was and the only one in their community who was still able to read Odin’s runes. One after another, the people began to file out of the house, leaving the mother to grief over her son by herself until there was a grave knock on the door and the elder entered, heavily braced on the shoulders of her two grandsons. With quiet huffs, they let the old woman down in a chair next to the body, her old, wrinkled fingers instantly coming up to touch the flowers weaved into the boy’s hair, a deep sadness in her wise eyes.

The widow, whose heart was already filled with a dark foreboding, handed her the wooden pendant wordlessly, watching impatiently as the elder rubbed her thumb over the carvings.

“What does it say?”, she asked in the end, apprehension running down her spine at the sympathetic look the elder graced her with.

“ _I had to take him. He was so beautiful._ ” The other woman read, her voice as grave as her eyes when she looked up again. “You know what that means, don’t you? The flowers, the marks, this message…”

“ _Huldra._ ” The other woman’s whisper echoed through the silent house, followed by a hushed sob. Regretfully, the elder nodded.

“Your son must have been special to the creature, for it to send him back to us. We should be thankful.”

“But why did it kill him then?” Again, the elder’s hand came up to stroke over the flower wreath, eyes looking into a faraway distance, into myths almost forgotten, told at night to keep the children from going into the forest alone.

“The _huldra’s_ mother is Freya; who is both the goddess of love and the goddess of death. She wants her children to live a life devoted to love and lust, but is envious of each lover they take. In the end, the _huldra_ must sacrifice its lover, so Freya can welcome them in her realm. Your son is with her now.”

Numbly, the widow barely nodded and let the elder kiss her cheeks before she left with her two helpers, the house once again empty except for her and her son’s painfully beautiful body. And while she spent the night sitting awake, saying farewell to her son, the village was filled with whispers, word traveling fast about the widow’s son and his fate.

In the end, the young man’s mother was not allowed to bury him in the graveyard, since the priest and half of the village too was convinced that he must have given himself to the devil. Instead, her son found his eternal rest on a small meadow next to a brook, just behind the fields he had worked so hard on all his life, lowered into his grave without any sermon, any ceremony whatsoever. To his mother it hardly mattered. She would go to church on Sundays to pray for her dead husband and she would kneel down before her hearth every night to pray to Freya, to ask her to take care of her dead son.

And sure enough, while everything died and withered when autumn came, her son’s meadow stayed green and healthy and the apple trees near it were hanging their branches low with heavy fruit. In winter, a family of small singing birds had made its home there, magically sustained by what it found on the meadow and in spring, the patch of grass erupted in flowers. Flowers everywhere, of the brightest colours and boldest shapes, a display of nature’s power so grand, the first people started to shun the meadow in fear of the supernatural powers they believed were at work there.

Then, it was summer again and around the same time, rumours started to spread within the people, rumours of a beautiful young man in a flower embroidered shirt. Apparently, a few boys had spotted him walking around on the widow’s fields and some days later, an old friend of her son had surprised the stranger as he sat next to the young man’s grave, seemingly in deep thought as his skin glowed softly in the summer sunlight. After that, the people of the village stopped visiting the meadow altogether. Everyone was told to shun the place, especially the children until the boy’s mother herself was the only person still visiting her son’s grave.

She too, of course, had seen the apparition of the beautiful man in the flower shirt several times, but did not feel any fear. She knew who he was. Or rather _what_ he was.

And she accepted what he had done to her son just like she had to accept the sight of her son’s beloved charm hanging for the other boy’s neck. What good was it to her now? She did not have any other children and her son did not need the necklace where he was now. So, she made peace with it. In fact, as the summer continued and a multitude of small white flower bloomed in the meadow, frighteningly similar to those that her son still wore in his hair when they buried him on this very clearing, she found that the boys quiet presence even gave her a calm sense of solace.

They would sit on the meadow together at dawn or sunset, always on opposite sides of the brook.

And sometimes, she thought she could hear him sing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for struggling all the way to the end with me, everyone!  
> I gotta say, I'm kind of nervous about how this will do in the fandom, since it is so different in theme and setting from what is normally done and what I've already done in the past too!  
> But well, as I said in the tags, I was on holiday in Norway when the idea for this story came over me like a tidal wave and I just could not refrain from writing it.  
> This is bascially my lovesong to old norse lore and the norwegian landscape. To all those forests, mountains, waterfalls and wet, dark green meadows.  
> I hope I was able to translate some of their magic into this piece.  
> Kudos and comments are, as always, highly appreciated <3 
> 
> *the lyrics of the song Jaebum sings to Jinyoung are a translated version of the norwegian folk song 'den dag kjem aldri'


End file.
